A team of company directors will be attempting to live on just 50 litres of water a day, which is around a third of what the average person in the UK uses, as part of a unique challenge taking place during Water Saving Week (19-23 March).
The directors of Northumbrian Water have all agreed to take part in the ′Cape Town Experience′, which means they can use no more than 50 litres of water each day.
This is the same amount of water that residents in Cape Town have been reduced to, where the water crisis is so severe that the city faces the possibility of running out of water completely.
′Day Zero′ for Cape Town is currently 27 August 2018, which is when the city will have to turn off water supplies due to the severe shortage. However this could come sooner if residents don′t restrict their usage to 50 litres per day.
Taking on the Cape Town Experience means that the directors will have just 50 litres of water to use each day for showering, drinking, cooking, cleaning washing clothes and even flushing the toilet.
With the average person in the UK using 140 litres of water a day, this means really having to think about the water they use.
The directors will each be tasked with looking at their current water use and deciding carefully where their 50 litres will go each day.
They will provide regular updates on their progress throughout Water Saving Week.
You can calculate your own daily water use and decide what you would do if you only had 50 litres per day here - http://coct.co/thinkwater/.
Northumbrian Water Group CEO Heidi Mottram, said: "In the UK we are lucky to have a continuous supply of clean, clear and great tasting water, and the situation in Cape Town shows us what a precious resource this is.
"50 litres may sound like enough, but when you consider how much we rely on water in our everyday lives it becomes clear what a challenge this is.
"Thankfully we do not have to ask our customers to reduce their water use to these levels, but it is important that we are all doing everything we can to save water and preserve supplies for future generations.
"There are lots of ways we can do this and we′ll have lots of advice and tips for our customers during Water Saving Week."
Customers will be able to see how the directors are coping with the Cape Town Experience by following Northumbrian Water on Twitter (@NorthumbrianH2O) and Facebook (www.fb.com/northumbrianwater/).
There will also be tips, advice and giveaways throughout Water Saving Week.
Northumbrian Water′s Customer Heroes will also be at the Galleries Shopping Centre in Washington on Friday 23 March, along with our community vehicle Flo, to talk to you about saving water.
For more information on saving water in the home visit https://www.nwl.co.uk/your-home/using-water-wisely.aspx.